


Typeface

by imagication



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ALL THE MAGICS, AND HUMOR!, Action, Adventure, Amnesia, Angst, Anxiety, Blood, But also Fluff!, Depression, Drama, F/F, F/M, Feels, Flashbacks, Friendship, Geez I suck at tags, Gore, Graphic stuff isn't till way later, Human Experimentation, Illnesses, Just Read It!, Magic, Mystery, No Smut, Non explicit nudity, Oh wait, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PUNDERFUL PUNS, PUNDERLAND, PUNDERTALE, Possession, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Sans, Reader Is Badass, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is TEMPORARILY named, Reader-Insert, Romance, Seriously slow, Skelekisses, Slow Burn, So don't worry, Sorry Not Sorry, Torture, Underground, Violence, dark themes, love ya, please!, pls, pls ..., puns, reader is female, yay!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:15:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6538579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagication/pseuds/imagication
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS.</p><p>But ... We already know that, don't we?</p><p>We already know about the war, the monsters being driven underground, and the seven mages sealing them there. Frisk falling, Chara and Asriel's story, the truth behind Flowey, and the six children. Asgore and Toriel's past. We've seen all the places we could go, and made all the friends we could.</p><p>Killed all the friends we could.</p><p>We know it all! Right?</p><p>Wrong.</p><p>Once, there was a young girl who fell into the Underground. She was found by the King and Queen, and adopted into a monster family. She had volunteered to help find a way out of the Underground using her soul. But, over time, the experiments went awry.</p><p>Then an accident happened, and that along with the events following ended up changing the course of monster history.</p><p>Now, the girl is left on her own, scared, confused, and without a home. On the other hand, a wild child is running around trying to commit murder, and something inside her is driving her to stop them.</p><p>This is her story, and one you should know, because SHE is YOU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags before continuing!
> 
> Reader will have a slight description and a temporary name, but I won't give hair, skin, eye color, etc, and all that will change later so that you can fit in your own name and look. It's all part of the story for now, so please just bear with me.
> 
> Now, I hope you enjoy!

Bzzt … Bzzt … Bzzt …

Shrrk!

The eight-year-old child winced from where she sat, letting out a soft gasp when the razor nicked her ear. It stung while she balled her hands into tiny fists, but she clamped her teeth down upon her cheeks, jaw tense as she kept herself from making a sound.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

…

Bzzt … Bzzt … Bzzt …

Of course she would be met with silence. But it’s not as if she really expected an apology, did she? No, not really. They never apologized.

Not a single one of them. Not a single one. Not a single one.

Click!

The child blinked when the constant buzzing was brought to an abrupt stop. Although the noise had seemed like the sound of annoying insects swarming about her head, the silence that followed was even more deafening. Something soft and itchy stroked itself across her shoulders; a brush ridding her of her excess hair. She watched as the long locks ran down her mint green gown and past the bar where her feet rest, down onto the floor.

“So … am I done?” she murmured softly, although she didn’t dare look over her shoulder. Dead eyes were all she would see.

Dead. Dead. Dead as dust.

“Yes.” A monotonous voice shook her from her thoughts, and she nodded. So much for that attempt at a conversation. But really, why did she ever try? What was the point. She was alone here.

Alone. Alone. Always alone.

“Would you like to see?” feigned politeness. It was funny, really how it actually sounded more natural for the insincerity to be there, instead of something meaningful. As if lies were more endearing than truth.

How twisted, right? How twisted must her life be to live amongst lies, and feel more comfortable like that than with the truth.

She was comfortable with it, right?

Right?

A mirror was shoved into her hands, and she looked down at it. A square slate of reflective glass revealed her face, staring back at her as if she were a stranger. But, really, she might as well have been one. She brushed the sides of her head, trimmed down to short hairs, while the ones on top were still a few inches long, brushed forward. An angular fringe.

Well, there was no going back now. She was finally on her way to do what she was here to do.

“Th-“ the mirror was ripped from her hands before she could express her thanks for the haircut. Not that she asked for it, no, but someone still needed to spread a little humanity around here.

Or at least, they needed to try. Try. Try.

A hand pressed against her back, nearly shoving her from the seat. “I need you to follow me, please.” Her little bare feet hit the cold tiles of the floor, the person staying strictly behind her with one hand against that spot on her back. It was almost as if she wasn’t supposed to see them, which was stupid because she had lived with them along with all of the other staff in the lab. But she didn’t argue against being pushed, wondering if maybe they were scared. Well, she wasn’t. Doctor or not, he said he could help her.

Help her. Help her. Help her.

“Now, Papyrus,” a gravelly voice echoed from ahead, “I need you to behave, alright? We're about to meet someone very special, okay?”

“OKAY!” a loud, high pitched voice squeaked from ahead, before a clapping sound quickly followed along with a softer, muffled, “I mean, okay.”

A series of rough chuckles followed, before the gravelly voice spoke up again, “Sans?”

“yeah, dad?” the voice was low and soft, though curiosity was threaded within it.

“Can you help watch your brother, please?”

“seeing as how i won’t be going anywhere, i’ll keep an eye on paps so that he won’t make spectacles of us.”

“SANS!”

The hand suddenly pushed the child towards a corner before leaving her back, the sound of footsteps retreating quickly and softly behind her.

The child’s senses screamed at her to be afraid in this dark, freezing hallway. But the light spilling in from the doorway beside her left her curious, and she silently approached it. Placing her hands upon the cool metal frame, she cautiously peered around the corner, before her brows raised in surprise.

There, in the middle of what looked like an office, stood three skeletal monsters. Of course, the child wasn’t new to monsters, no, and these ones were no different. Sure, she hadn’t seen any skeletons before, but she learned quickly that monsters often looked similar only if they were family. Other than that, they could come in many shapes and sizes. Not that she minded. Life with monsters was as normal to an undergrounder as the sun was to those above ground.

The first one to catch her eye was the small, slender skeleton with a broad jaw and giant mouth, his little eye sockets narrowed in annoyance as he squeaked up at his older brother. This must be Papyrus. He wore brown pants on his skinny legs and big brown boots that swallowed his calves whole. On top of that, he wore an orange sweater with the word ‘COOL' scrawled across it in black marker, and a bright red scarf, possibly made of blanket scraps, was wrapped around his neck. While he stomped his little foot, the child figured he was no older than five. It took a moment, but when she caught a glimpse of dark blue, she grinned. It suited him.

When a hand patted the little skeleton's head, the hole in it caught the child's eyes and she followed it up to see a much taller skeleton. Ah, the doctor. He was rather tall, maybe seven feet in height, and looked rather professional for the obviously domestic father he was.

Then again, that's what they had said about the king, too …

Shaking her head, she watched Doctor W.D. Gaster's white labcoat flutter with his chuckles. Beneath it he wore an all black outfit consisting of a turtleneck, lab pants and squeaky clean dress shoes. His back was slightly turned away from her, so she could see that the Delta Rune was also printed across the back of the labcoat in black. Of what she could see when it came to his face, he had dark sockets wit bright pinpricks for eyes and a half-moon of a black grin on his white face, no nose hole or teeth. Once she saw the smile, purple flashed across her vision and she smirked. He was the Royal Scientist, clearly happy despite his job in times like these. It made sense.

Gawking in silent curiosity, she observed as his hands sort of floated, no visible joints connecting them to his wrists, and she watched in fascination as the joints of the phalanges and four sections of the palms would separate to form different symbols, seemingly out of habit, while he spoke.

Wing. Dings. Wingdings. Wingdings.

While her mind drifted, the flash of light blue caught her off guard. With a blink, it was gone and replaced by the stare of who could only be Sans. For a split second, she felt like ducking her head back around the corner and hiding, but she knew that would be stupid; he'd already seen her. Instead, she met his blank expression wither hers. So, he was the protective one of the bunch, huh?

Interesting.

For a moment, she thought he was trying to be aggressive when he didn’t take the initiative to acknowledge her- hey, he was the one staring first!- but, after a few seconds of observing, she recognized his expression. He could see.

And he was searching. Searching. Searching.

The child felt absolutely naked, and wanted to bring a hand to shield her chest, but didn’t. If he could see, she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. Not to mention flesh would be useless in this case. Instead, she took the opportunity to look at his appearance.

Sans appeared to be slender like his brother, but clearly hadn’t inherited height like Papyrus had. While Paps was about five, Sans was probably eight, maybe nine, and the younger brother was already at the older brother's chin. He wore a puffy blue jacket that made him look chubby despite his obvious skeletal build, which was given away by the white turtleneck he wore beneath it. The turtleneck was so big the sleeves cuffed the jacket's and the hem ended at his knees. Beneath that were black jeans and chucks the same blue as his jacket. She also don’t miss the fact that, despite the mostly oversized fashion, the shoelaces were neatly double knotted into a pair of symmetrical bows.

When she looked back up to his face, the blank look had been replaced by a bored expression. His mouth was closed while his eyelids were dropped, big white pinpricks calmly staring back at her.

She continued to watch him with the same expression, forcing down that feeling of stage fright when meeting someone new- a feeling she had never gotten rid of, despite the years. Both of their eyes shifted to something else when the child was socked in the stomach by a flurry of warm colors.

She landed heavily on her back, the bare section of skin exposed from the back of her gown slapping loudly against the freezing tile. She lay there for a few moments, winded. While she tried to catch her breath, she heard a set of feet quickly tapping towards her, and a smaller set shuffling closely behind.

When the child couldn’t seem to breath, she struggled to sit up, feeling a heavy weight on her ribcage. She knew the doctor would run tests on her, but she hadn’t expected him to do it so unexpectedly and so soon.

Soon. Soon. So soon.

Glancing hesitantly down at her torso, she blinked until she realized the reason she couldn't breathe was because she was being … hugged.

What ..?

“H-HELLO, I AM P-PAPYRUS!” the little skeleton was looking up at her from where he continued to lay, his voice vibrating from his chest to her stomach in little tingles. He had clearly thrown his father’s advice of caution to the wind, and, despite his loud and cheerful demeanor, the stutter in his speech gave away his nervousness.

For a moment, she stared down at him, still trying to process the fact that this stranger, this skeleton, this little kid was … hugging her. Memories were whirring throughout her mind, and Papyrus grew more and more tense and afraid by the second. The three skeletons were stock skill, watching the girl stare stiffly at the blank tile just beyond her feet.

She was being hugged. Hugged. HUGGED. From the wretched memories she had of the surface, nobody had hugged her there. Had the King or Queen hugged her when they found … when she had been … when she was able to meet them properly? No. Asgore had sent her away to the doctor immediately, and she had agreed wholeheartedly to go because of …

...

And the people in the lab had never hugged her, always making sure they didn’t get too emotionally attached to their ‘subjects’, should anything ‘go wrong'. The girl scoffed when she first heard this, covering up the slight hurt she felt at the policy- set by the King.

And that’s when it hit her. This was her first hug.

Blinking herself out of her deep stupor, the child's eyes flicked down to meet Papyrus's. Hers widened a bit when she noticed the glowing orange tears at the corners of his sockets, and she let out a shaky breath full of emotion when she realized he was scared; her lack of response must have been nerve-wracking.

Gaster and Sans tensed up when she raised her hands, reaching towards the skeleton. The two exchanged a glance, when the doctor gave a curt shake of his head to his son. They couldn’t act just yet. If the child showed any signs of hurting Papyrus, Gaster would immediately take care of it while Sans retrieved his brother. But, as for now, she hadn’t given them any real reason to worry. Sans crossed his arms in an uncomfortable pout, but Gaster still refused to let him act while they continued to watch the moment.

Papyrus watched, wide eyed in fear and wonder, when the girl gently caressed his cheekbones. His head flinched back for a moment, as did her fingers. She looked deeply into his eyes, silently communicating her lack of means to harm, and she could feel him relaxing around herself. Slowly, she reached out for his face again, and he met her fingers halfway, leaning in to the soft and foreign touch of her skin. Gently, her thumbs swiped up, and she gave him a small and wobbly smile while his tears were wiped away …

And some spilled down her cheeks.

“H-Hi, Papyrus.” She murmured, her voice cracking when she shifted to hug him back. He beamed at her, all traces of worry completely disappearing from his face. She moved to where she was sitting with her legs crossed, and Papyrus immediately shifted into her lap, burying his face into her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, fists balled into the sweater of the little skeleton’s back while her lip quivered, trying to ebb the flow of tears. She had no idea a hug could feel so …

So …

Good. Good. So good.

After several seconds of silence, Papyrus eased up on the child, and her hands immediately went limp, falling from his back to her sides while he sat up in her lap to look at her. Her eyes were still closed, and she was sniffling a bit. Suddenly, a large weight rested warmly upon her back, and she slowly opened her eyes when warm bones stroked across her face, wiping away her tears. She looked up to meet the kind sockets of the Doctor.

Her eyes widened when she realized what was going on, and Papyrus moved from her lap while she scrambled to her feet, back stiff and arms folded behind her back and away from Gaster’s touch. They couldn’t see the scars that were there, but they could easily be felt. The skin was warped, twisted and pink, surprisingly soft to the touch, and she didn’t want him finding out about them on their first encounter.

She didn’t want his judgement. Judgement. Judgement.

“Gas- ah, er, D-Doctor W.D. Gaster, it is nice to meet you, sir!” She said stiffly, reminding herself not to bow and instead thrusting a hand to out towards the still-kneeling skeleton’s face. Although he radiated kindness, the king had as well, but that hadn't kept him from …

…

Gaster's brow bones shot up in surprise. Apparently they had disciplined her more than he thought- not that he planned on really disciplining her more than a normal child, but he had hoped that his allowance into the experiments would make a difference, and thus possibly changing the results compared to the last ones. Unfortunately, Asgore had taken it upon himself to conduct the experiments of the past, ending in failures. This time, with such a promising subject …

Gaster thought for a moment. No, child. This was a female human child, not some subject to an experiment, and he would treat her as such. Of course, she had given her full consent to this lifestyle, and he could see that she knew exactly what that meant, but she had been named solely over to him. She was another being in his mind, and so he hoped she would accept him a doctoral or professorial figure, and he wouldn’t mind if it became parental.

He realized she was still watching him, waiting for him to take her hand.

“But of course, it is my pleasure.” He grinned, taking her hand and giving it a single gentle shake. Her hand was as tiny as and much softer than Papyrus’s, and her eyes widened when Gaster’s practically swallowed it whole. She blinked rapidly, staring at her little hand that had been let go, eliciting a chuckle from the Doctor, thus raising smiles on the skelebros' faces.

“O-Oh …” she trailed off while looking back up at him where he now towered over her. She had to tilt her head back while he had to lean his forward just to make eye contact. She then jumped, “I-I mean, thank y-you, s-sir! I look f-forward to w-working w-“ she immediately froze when Gaster lowered his hand upon her head, silencing her.

“Please, child, there is no need to be so formal here. I am a professional doctor, not a mad scientist.” He chuckled jokingly, and she gripped both sides of his hand then peered up at him through the hole.

Squinting her eyes, she looked past his and into his inner being, until she saw that familiar glimpse of purple. She could tell immediately by the hue that he meant what he said, and more. Closing her eyes, she relaxed in what felt like years, releasing her spine and letting out a deep breath. “Thanks, Doc.” She sighed, smiling a lot more confidently at him when he lowered his hand.

He nodded, before looking from her to his sons, gesturing to the two boys. “Sans, Papyrus, this is my new …” he trailed off, unsure what other word to use than-

“Subject. Subject Number 1951896, to be exact.” She supplied, missing Gaster's pointed frown while she smiled at the brothers. Well, more like Papyrus, who now had his arms wrapped around Gaster’s leg, while Sans stood nearby to the side of them. She turned to show them the sleeve of her gown. It had a tiny print of the Delta Rune, and beneath it the phrase ‘Subject No. 1951896’, all in grey.

“Patient,” Gaster suddenly cut through whatever else she was going to say when her mouth had opened, and the look in his eyes kept it closed. “This is my new patient, Serif.” He nodded resolutely, and the child felt her eyes begin to water up while her face warmed up significantly. She couldn’t remember her name from the surface, and had been called a series of digits for the longest time.

Swallowing down the burst of emotions, she nodded, a grin splitting her face and showing her pearly little teeth. Gaster held a hand out to gesture to the boys, “Serif,” a strange warmth spread out throughout the room when he used the name again, “these are my sons.”

Serif looked at the boys again, no longer hesitating. For a moment, she inspected Gaster and Papyrus, slightly tilting her head at the pure innocence of the young skeleton’s eyes. But her curiosity could only be contained for so long before she turned to Sans. He was trying to appear nonchalant, mouth set in a neutral frown and his body tilted away from her, but his eyes were darting up and down her figure with such an intensely burning curiosity, she brought a hand to her mouth and couldn’t help but giggle. Such a scientist's son.

When Sans heard the sound tinkling from Serif's throat, his wide eyes immediately flew to her face, only to see her bright smile and eyes sparkling with amusement. At first, all he could think about was how he was itching to know how she worked, and that he thought she was so pret- No, nope, okay, not going there, ew. His eyes immediately lidded, and he sniffed as if nothing had happened. However, he nearly lost his composure again when she cleared her throat, looking at him with a quirked brow and a pointed grin.

Sans immediately caught on, and shuffled up to Serif. Her face practically beamed amusement, but she held it back and forced it into a much kinder smile. “so, you're dad's new patient, huh? serif.”

Serif nodded, and had to choke down a snort when he gave her a quick once over as if he hadn’t just been analyzing her, “Yep! That’s me.”

Sans then cracked her a grin, showing that he had one gap in his smile where he lost a tooth. She was immediately thrown off; the smile made him look … NO! No, Serif! Cooties! Blinking, she felt her cheeks turn a bit pink when he raised a bony hand for her to take. “name's sans. sans the-“

“Skeleton?” Serif tilted her head while taking his hand.

Sans halted in his little introduction, blinking at the pure innocence behind the girl's voice. She seemed almost confused as to why he introduced himself that way. He only nodded, grin a bit wider. “yup. and i gotta say, serif,” he paused, stressing her name while giving her hand a pointed shake, “it's font-tastic to meet you.” Comedic value, that’s why.

Serif's eyes widened, and she grinned the biggest grin Sans had ever seen. “Well, Sans,” she began innothcently, then shook his hand back, “I think you’re quite the comic. It’s kinda punny that we both like jokes, huh?”

He let go of her hand, his soul suddenly blazing while he chuckled. Finally, somebody who understood! “yeah, and believe me, I have a ton of puns to tell.” Pause. Serif was practically bouncing in excited anticipation. “a skele-ton.”

Serif giggled, and opened her mouth when there was a sudden, “NYEH! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH” and she was being tugged on the hand by Papyrus. “SANS! DO NOT RUIN THE HU- ER, SERIF'S BRAIN!” he called over his shoulder, stomping out of the office. “COME, HU- I MEAN, SERIF, I WILL SHOW YOU THE PLANT LAB!”

And with that, Gaster and Sans watched as Papyrus dragged a rather happy looking Serif away.

Turning to his father, Sans smiled contentedly up at the doctor. “welp, guess i better make sure paps doesn’t try to eat a buttercup again.” He said, then walked after the other two children.

Gaster chuckled warmly at the thought of the three bonding around the plants. “You do that son, I'll meet you all there later.” And with that, he turned back to his desk to continue working until he could find the time to see his children.

Wait, no, sons and patient.

For a moment, the doctor let the idea roll around in his mind. Children, friend … family.

He felt his soul flutter at the word.

Children. Yes. Serif could become part of his … family.

He couldn’t keep the huge grin off of his face.

Children sounded like a much better word in his mind.

…

Little did they know what the future would bring.

 

\-----

 

“I’m s-sorry.” The words were cracked, blood bubbling up with a salty tang.

The blade was lowered “I’m sorry, too.” A strangled whisper, still hands wanting to quake as they moved.

Screaming.

 

\-----

 

“I can’t.” a voice that was broken, lost, while tears fell past cracked lips.

“no, wait, we're almost--!” hands outstretched, reaching, but it had already been done.

Loud, white hot, pain.

 

\-----

 

Odd warbling noises. Wet, hot, the stink of rot in the air.

“N-n-no! No! Just o-one more. It'll w-w-work. J-just one more.”

A sweet scent covering the decay.

 

\-----

 

Green. Warm yet cold. A blanket.

“Howdy!”

Searing pain. Spinning, swirling, an exit.

“I’m Flowey!”

Who am I? Where am I? What day is it? It hurts! It all hurts!

“Flowey the Flower!"

Everything is black.


	2. Chapter 1: Bare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frickety-frack, look who's back!  
> Biggidy-boy, hope you enjoy!  
> *rolls back into my hole*

Chapter 1: Bare

 

The ruins were a relatively quiet place, the monsters there quite peaceful. The echoes of soft conversations along with the dripping of stones and crackling of torches gave it it’s own music, playing nonstop throughout the day and lulling citizens to sleep at night.

It was here where a beautiful goat monster known as Toriel could be found resting upon a rock, her face in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her chest heaved with sobs while her pristinely white fur had lost its luster. The rock she sat upon had tried consoling her, but after many failed attempts, it had resigned itself to silence, allowing her to sit upon him and cry.

“O-Oh …” she cried, her voice echoing throughout the room, “what kind of mother am I? All I ever seem to do is drive my dear children away!” she let out a loud hiccough, tugging gently on her ears while looking to the ceiling of the cave. “Why must there be a barrier? Why am I not allowed to follow my children, to keep them safe along their journeys?” her heart aches, and she couldn’t help but loathe herself. “Every time I feel as if I am doing what is right. But then … then I am proven a fool.” Her sobs settling, her voice became solemn while she bowed her head with her eyes closed. “They come. They leave. They die.” Her voice was hoarse, and she ran her hands down her muzzle before wiping away her tears.

Standing, she took a deep breath, before shaking her head and looking forward. “But, be it as it may, as a caretaker I mustn't allow these things to get in the way of my duties.” Her heart was utterly broken, but she was still a queen, after all. She had never truly been dethroned, and thus still went about her duties. The citizens of the ruins often looked to her for help, and not a day went by when something needed to be done.

“Thank you, Rock.” She said, giving the rock she had been sitting upon a nice pat.

“No problem, m'lady.” Rock replied, then scooted forward to sit upon a button ahead of them. When the button clicked, spikes on a bridge at the end of the room lowered. The rock then twisted towards Toriel, and said, “You seem like you could use some time relaxing, m'lady. If any monsters pass through, I'll tell them to visit your home if they really need you.”

Toriel placed a hand to her mouth with a watery giggle, a bit touched at Rock's kind actions. “That’s quite sweet of you, but I do not think-“

“But miss, I agree with Rock!” a stone to Toriel's left called. He, too, sat on a button. “You really do deserve a rest!”

“See, Stone agrees.” Rock said rather smugly.

The woman just shook her head. “No, I'm sorry, but I can't-“

Then, another voice spoke up, “Ma’am, I must say that I, too, think you need time to yourself.” A Boulder to Toriel's right was also sitting on a switch.

After a few more prompts of ‘M’lady, Miss, and Ma'am' from Rock, Stone, and Boulder, Toriel finally sighed with a chuckle. She knew monsters would need her help, and that if she went home she would cry alone (and eat a little more pie than she should), but it was best. If she didn’t allow herself to grieve now, she wouldn’t be in her right mind to help her friends, and everything would just fall apart until she ended up snapping from depression …

Just like Asgore.

Shaking her head, she decided it would be best to take the day off. Besides, her friend from the door promised her that should he find Frisk, he would keep them from dying. She trusted him enough to believe that he'd withhold his promise, and so she just had to wait until he actually confirmed finding the human child.

“Fine.” Toriel finally said, silencing the rock family. Feeling their happiness, she continued forward. Glancing at her reflection in the river beneath the bridge, she stopped and turned back, looking at it with a frown. The whites of her chocolaty brown eyes were tinged pink with puffy lids, and her fur was a bit ruffled. Tutting her reflection, she bent over the water to straighten her fur. While messing with a particularly stubborn patch, however, her paws stilled when a bubble appeared in the middle of her reflection, only to be followed by a few others. The only underwater dwellers she knew of lived far away in Waterfall, and nobody from the areas leading to New Home had ever travelled back to the ruins.

“What is this?” Squatting down, she rested on her knees while bending forward with her ears dangling around the sides of her face. More and more bubbles continued to appear from an unseen source, her reflection distorting until it was unable to be seen when the bubbles grew in size and circumference. Standing, she clasped a hand over her mouth when a shadow appeared beneath the bubbles. Although part of her wanted to run, she couldn’t help but stay in concern. The shadow grew as well while the huge bubbles sounded like something was boiling, until she realized it was something coming up from beneath the water.

Suddenly, Toriel let out a loud cry when the surface broke and she was splashed with chilly water.

Whoever it was surfaced with a loud “Puah!” and Toriel's eyes grew to the size of saucers when she realized that she was facing …

A human.

An adult female human.

\-----

Nails scrabbling against the stone floor of the cave, the woman was gasping while her wet skin slapped against the rock. Every atom of her body was screaming for air, and aching in pain. She pulled her torso out of the water before collapsing onto her stomach with her legs still beneath the surface. She was completely soaked, and she coughed up mouthfuls of water until she was able to breathe, then lay there heaving in breaths of air. When she was finally able to breathe, she pulled the rest of her body out of the water and rolled onto her back with her eyes closed. The cold then hit her completely bare body, digging into her flesh like knives while she trembled violently with chattering teeth.

Toriel stood stock still in shock, taking in the woman's appearance. She couldn’t be older than twenty four, and had clearly been through quite an ordeal. Pink scars had lined her back, although they were faded, probably obtained during her childhood, but fresher ones lined other parts of her body in oddly straight lines. One that stood out in particular was a thick line that ran between her breasts down to the space above her belly button, and it was a fleshy purple. The sound of the woman’s teeth snapped her out of her trance, and she immediately dropped to her knees beside her head.

The woman was in such physical distress that she hadn’t noticed the monster before her until a warm hand was placed upon the crown of her head. Her entire body convulsed in a heavy flinch, and she rolled over onto her hands and knees while pushing down her body's protests on instinct. A burning feeling pulsed throughout her body, and she prepared to release herself before she met Toriel’s startled eyes. At first she was going to attack, but the orange that she found glowing there completely threw her off guard and she immediately stilled.

“O-Oh m-my!” Toriel gasped in surprise while placing a hand over her chest and her bows raised high over wide eyes. After a moment of maintaining eye contact, the monster decided not to approach the woman in case anything went wrong, and the latter relaxed and looked down at her feet.

When the woman noticed her predicament, she gasped and covered herself and best as she could with two arms and hands. “I-I-I’m so-orry. I w-was just s-s-surpr-rised to m-m-meet you.” The cold had gotten to her again, and she was too embarrassed to make eye contact with Toriel. When something suddenly dropped before her face and weighed upon her shoulders, however, she found that she was in a plum colered robe with the Delta Rune upon the chest. The human looked up at the goat woman and realized that Toriel had taken off her robe and given it to her to keep warm, as the monster was now in her beautiful white dress.

Toriel was now very close to the woman now, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close to keep her warm while they set off for her home. “There you go, my dear. I am going to take you to my home so that I can help take care of you there, alright?” The woman simply nodded. Her mind seemed blank, void of memory, yet it felt oddly … premeditated. It was as if a part of her knew- or perhaps, had once known- that this might happen, and she couldn’t force herself to feel upset, no matter how hard she tried. “Might I ask you what your name is?”

Something scraped at the woman's mind, screaming to be released, when another slipped out from beneath it. “(y/n).” She hadn’t even realized she had said it until Toriel was repeating it, before nodding with a satisfied smile, brown eyes bright.

In the end, she felt oddly drained, yet comforted by the sight of monsters and Toriel's warmth. Despite her lack of memory, she couldn’t remember much of her life, but her instincts and basic knowledge remained. These were monsters, and most of them were friendly, although caution should always be practiced. Fighting is wrong, and peace is good. She knew common morals and educational knowledge, and even some complex things ran through her mind, although they were pushed aside for now. She was female, twenty four, and hadn’t spoken to anyone in awhile.

“Excuse me, dear, but we are here.” Toriel snapped (y/n) out of her thoughts.

“Oh.” Was all (y/n) could say, hugging herself awkwardly while Toriel let her go and stepped forward.

Opening the door, Toriel turned back to (y/n) and held out her hand. (y/n) took it, and allowed herself to be guided into the house.

Almost immediately, the warmth and scent of buttery cinnamon assaulted her senses. She was led into an entryway and to the right, down a hallway, before stopping at a door. Blinking, (y/n) turned curiously towards Toriel.

The monster placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Inside is the bathroom. You can take yourself a nice bath, or a hot shower if you want. Once you’ve warmed up, call me and I should have dinner ready for you by then, alright?” she was smiling softly at (y/n), who's cheeks warmed up in gratitude. A smile broke out across her face, something from her past stirring inside of her.

“Thank you.” She grinned, placing her own hand atop Toriel’s and giving it a gentle squeeze, before stepping forward and entering the bathroom.

The room was white-walled with yellow tiled floors. There was a toilet with a medicine cabinet above it. Next to it was a sink with a towel cabinet beneath it and a mirror above it. A trash bin and toilet paper hook were wedged into the space between the two. Adjacent to those were an older looking clawed bathtub with a yellow curtain that matched the floors, and four towel hooks lined the wall in the space between the sink and shower, a plush brown bath rug beneath them.

Stripping from Toriel's slightly dampened robe, the warmer temperature of the house seemingly wrapped around (y/n)’s body while she twisted the x-shaped knobs to turn on the tub. Despite the fact that the idea of resting in a warm bubble bath was very tempting, she managed to resist, something about it unsettling her. Instead, she decided to take a hot shower.

Once the water was as hot as it could go, she stepped into the scalding hot spray. Part of her wanted to scream at the burning water, but an even greater half succumbed to the intense heat, until she was completely covered in soothing rivulets.

When she found the shampoo and body wash, she couldn’t help but smile. They were vanilla scented, and that combined with Toriel’s natural smell created something that radiated butterscotch and cinnamon, altogether screaming the word ‘mother’. (y/n) began to scrub herself clean, getting rid of the off-scent of dirt and mildew. She watched in fascination as the suds rolled down her body, covering up her scars when they did …

Wait, what? Scars …  
\-----  
“Look, ×××! *** found these!”

“Whoa, that’s pretty neat, ~~~.”

“Yeah! Hey, why don’t we try ‘em out?”

Blow. Pop. Blow. Pop. Blow. Pop.

“… Y'know, it’s kinda relaxing, huh?”

“Ooh, yes, it is! And they're pretty, like … um, rainbows? Yes!”

“You're right. In fact, they remind me of …”

Knock, knock, knock!  
\-----  
(y/n) jumped, her body completely rinsed off. The water was running cold, and she now smelled of her own scent combined with vanilla; honeysuckle. Her fingers were wrinkled like prunes, and she looked up when the knocking sound came again. She realized Toriel was knocking on the bathroom door, and she immediately scrambled forward to turn of the shower. Once the faucet was off, she looked up while stepping from the basin. “Yes?”

“Ah, (y/n), I was worried you had fallen asleep!” Toriel's voice was laced with worry, and (y/n) immediately felt a twinge of guilt.

Grabbing a towel, she began drying off. “Oh, no. Sorry, the water just made me a bit sleepy and my mind wandered, but I’m alright! I didn’t mean to make you worry.” For a moment, she paused, before adding, “Thank you again, for the bath and dinner. I don’t mean to be a burden, and I’ll leave as soon as I can.

Toriel suddenly giggled from the other side of the door, and (y/n) smiled at the beautiful sound. “Oh, my dear, this is no problem at all. You are welcome to stay as long as you'd like.” Something inside her voice seemed almost … pleading, but (y/n) couldn’t quite place what it was. Instead, she shook her head despite the monster's lack of vision.

She had to leave eventually, and the sooner, the better. She couldn’t afford to become attached; it would just make it all the more painful. For both of them.

After a few seconds of silence, Toriel seemed to remember something. “Ah! I'm sorry, my mind wandered away from me. I’m becoming quite a little old lady.” She chuckled, before continuing. “I left some clothes for you in the room you will be staying in,” as if predicting (y/n)’s protest, she quickly added, “and you will be staying.” Her voice suddenly took on a much more powerful tone, almost … queenly. (y/n) blinked rapidly, brows raised at the sudden interjection, when Toriel continued, “The room is the door just to the right of this one, around the flower vase.”

(y/n) sighed, accepting defeat at the concept of leaving. “Alright, Miss Toriel-“

She was cut off when the monster gasped, before saying with laughter, “Oh, my dear, please just call me Tori.”

The woman blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed now. “O-Okay, thanks …Tori,” She flushed, “I’ll be right out.”

Toriel simply hummed, happy (y/n) hadn’t argued. “Alright, my dear. I’ll be in the dining room when you’re ready.” She said, and the woman could hear her as she walked happily back to prepare for dinner.

(y/n)’s hair and body were thoroughly dried by now, and very little precipitation was left on the mirror when she glanced at her reflection. For a moment, she took herself in. Her hair had grown, and her body filled out nicely. Her eyes shone brightly back at her, and her teeth gleamed white when she pulled a beautiful smile. However, she didn’t think of herself this way. No, she saw a scarred girl with no memory and no home. Sighing, she wrapped herself up and exited the bathroom, quickly finding the door to the room she’d be occupying.

Opening the door, she was surprised to enter what looked like a child's room, before noticing the two beds. No, two children's room.  
\-----  
“So, they eat dessert, just for that?”

“Oh, yes! It’s such a wonderful thing.”

“Wow!”

“… Although, I've never …”

“Yeah.”

“… Well, it sounds super fun!”

“Sure does…”

“… ×××?”

“Hm?”

“If we ever get to do that, would you join us?”

“… Of course.”  
\-----  
(y/n)’s hands were trembling when the clicking of the door shutting behind her jerked her from … On the bed in front of the door lay a set of the clothes. Walking over to them, she forced her … memories? Memories, down.

She had an inkling that whatever had happened to her was part of something much bigger. Every fiber of her being refused to let her waste time- whatever she had a time limit for, she didn’t know- worrying about herself, memory or not. And the memories that had surfaced so far only managed to increase that feeling of urgency.

Keep moving.

(y/n) brought a hand to her eyes, slowly rubbing her eyes with a low sigh, before dropping it to her side. She let the towel slump against the floor, stepping from it and reaching for the clothes. She first came across a pair of underwear that suspiciously seemed to have been stitched together from cloth rather recently. Despite the fact, they were comfortable, and fit quite well. She was thankful to find that Toriel had also set aside some toiletries; vanilla deodorant and minty toothpaste with a simple plastic toothbrush. Next, she slid on a pair of black leggings and white tank top that both fit snugly against her body. Then came a pair of thick (and super fuzzy) knee-high socks that were beige in color, and some black ankle boots. To top it all off was a beautiful pale periwinkle blue hoodie.

Pulling it on, (y/n) found that was actually a muffler hoodie, and the muffler ended just beneath her nose, covering her expressions from view, along with drawstrings to tighten that and the hood, and she could place her hands in a pouch low on the abdomen. But the best feature was the single giant star stitched across the front. It had the classic five-pointed shape, and was the brightest white, while the fabric was soft and silky. The hoodie overall was loose fitting and semi-baggy, ending at (y/n's) mid-thigh like a very concealing sweater dress.

There was a nightstand with a green hairbrush on it, and the back had little yellow buttercups printed across it. Grabbing it, (y/n) couldn’t help but wonder where Toriel's children had gone. But she knew it would have been rude to ask, so she didn’t. Besides, they’d probably grown up and moved out. Maybe this was a room she kept for people like herself, just for them to recover until they could move on again. Maybe someone had …

No.

She began to roughly pull the brush through her tangled locks until they were all separated. Running her hand through her hair, she was happy with the way it smoothly made it out. Tossing the brush onto the bed, she yawned with a stretch before making her way out of the room.

When (y/n) stepped from the room, a sudden chill seemed to hit her, and she shuddered. The heat of the shower must have finally worn off. She walked towards the entryway, looking around. To her right was what looked like a stairway, and to her left was the front door. The scent of something delicious hit her nose, and she decided to make her way forward.

Upon entering the living room, the sound of firewood popping and crackling hit (y/n)’s ears, and she could smell what seemed like soup and pie. She viewed the items in the room while inching towards the fireplace, shoving her cold hands deep into her hoodie's pouch. Surrounding the fireplace were a chair and bookshelf, and in the corner of the room was a quaint four-seated table with a flowerpot of buttercups as a centerpiece, and it was set for a dinner for two. Behind the recliner was a doorway, and (y/n) assumed it led to the kitchen, considering the fact that the smell of food seemed to be coming from there.

“Tori?” she called out with a tentative voice, and was pleased when said goat woman entered from the kitchen with a steaming pot if soup in one hand and a half pan of pie in the other. Her mouth began to water while she stared, mesmerized, at the steam rising from the food.

“I am sorry, my dear, I do not mean to keep you waiting.” Toriel broke (y/n) from her thoughts with an apologetic smile.

She jumped, tearing her eyes away from the food and to Toriel's face. “Oh! Oh, no, I just got done getting dressed.” She smiled, and walked over to the table, gulping down her drool in an attempt of politeness. “Here, let me help you.” she made sure Toriel had the food settled on the table before reaching for the bowls, but the goat woman shook her head.

She gently pushed (y/n)’s hands away, using a ladle to fill the bowls with a thick green soup. “No, no, my dear. Please, I have not been able to host a guest like you in quite a long time.” Her voice suddenly lowered, almost as if she were begging. “Just … just, please, let me help you.”

Toriel had stilled now, staring at the pie plate she had been going to fill in her hand. (y/n) could tell that there was an underlying story beneath this pain, and she couldn’t help but feel her heart swell with guilt when she was asked to submit. Something deep inside her knew what that look meant, because she had been there too. Reaching forward, she gently touched Toriel's shoulder. The monster jumped and looked at her with watery eyes, and (y/n) gave her a comforting smile. Something in her eyes must have really touched Toriel, because she suddenly let out a loud, “Oh!” before pulling (y/n) into her chest with a bone crushing hug.

They both stood there for a long moment. (y/n) found herself clutching Toriel's gown, something inside of her taking the briefest moment to let her guard down while she mourned for whatever she lost along with her memories. At the same time, Toriel seemed to be grieving for her own share of losses; whether recent or not, the woman didn’t know. But they both came to an unspoken understanding when they parted, and the monster took a deep breath while gently patting the human's cheek. The human, in turn, grinned at Toriel before dropping her arms to her sides.

Toriel silently finished setting the table, and (y/n) slid into her seat when the goat woman had. “So, what all did you make?” she asked curiously, lifting a spoonful of the soup to her face. It appeared to have an abnormally vibrant green hue along with brown chunks in it, but she hadn’t eaten in awhile, and it smelled absolutely delicious. And the pie was a piece (Heh) of work itself, with a beautiful golden-brown crust and a rich creamy butterscotch colored center. Both courses were served alongside a warm cup of pale yellow tea.

“Oh!” Toriel quickly patted her mouth with her napkin, blushing because she had already started eating. “This is thistle and snail soup, my favorite.” She smiled while holding up a spoonful, before pointing to her own slice of pie, “And that, my dear, is butterscotch cinnamon pie. It is half of what I made earlier, I hope you do not mind.” She added quickly. When (y/n) shook her head, she continued to gesture to the tea, “And this is golden flower tea.”

(y/n) smiled. “Well, it is a beautiful spread, and smells delicious, Tori. Thank you.” She said softly.

Toriel blushed, waving her hand while giggling. “Ah, thank you my dear for such praises, but it was honestly nothing. I actually rather enjoy cooking.”

(y/n) just laughed at Toriel's modesty, deciding not to press with her flattery, and put a spoonful in her watery mouth. The soup, despite the odd ingredients, was thick and savory. She couldn’t help but hum in contentment, and quickly found herself polishing off her third bowl in no time. When she moved on to the pie, it was scrumptious, with the perfect flaky crust and creamy filling. Two pieces later, she finished it all off with the golden flower tea, which was mild and sweet while it warmed her full tummy.

Sitting back with a sleepy sigh, (y/n) looked at Toriel through half-lidded eyes. “The meal was absolutely wonderful, Tori. I know you said it was nothing, but thank you so much. I really needed that.” She grinned, before letting out an involuntary yawn.

Toriel nodded with a smile, chuckling when the woman yawned. “It was my pleasure, dear. I’m glad I could help. ” She said warmly. She then got up from her seat and began gathering the dishes, and looked at (y/n). “How about I wash the dishes while you head to your room and go to bed?” she suggested. When the woman sat up to protest, she placed a hand firmly on her chest, pushing her into her seat. “Do not worry, I will go to bed when I am finished. Please, you must rest.”

After a few seconds and a rather intense staredown, (y/n) finally relented when her exhaustion began to take over. Sighing, she hauled herself from her chair. “Fine,” she huffed, although she was secretly thankful to finally get to bed, “Goodnight, Tori.”

Toriel patted her back before moving towards the kitchen. “Goodnight, my dear.” She called from over her shoulder, and (y/n) headed back to the bedroom with another yawn.

Shuffling into the darkness, she softly closed the door behind her before creeping over to the bed next to a shelf with an empty picture frame. For awhile, she simply laid there, something deep inside her throbbing with an achingly deep want to stay. It almost felt right for her to lay in that bed, as if it was where she belonged, but it wasn’t and the stronger part of her knew that. It took her several moments of internal struggling, but she finally convinced herself to leave by tomorrow. In the end, she slowly fell asleep, subconsciously staring at the empty picture frame as she did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Okay, I'm sorry! This chapter took forever because writing Toriel is so hard for me! I'm not good at softer, more maternal or paternal figures. My charaters are normally either a cocky sort of friendly or downright cold at best. And, unlike any GOOD author, this scatterbrained werido doesn't have the time to write ahead without taking forever to upload. Not to mention severe life issues have been keeping me afk, but that doesn't matter! I hope this makes up for it all!
> 
> OH, and the next chapter should be up much sooner! Where do you think we'll be going? Who do you think we'll meet? It may seem obvious, but you an never be sure ... Or can you!?! Stick around and you'll see soon! I'm just so excited for this one, whoo!


	3. Chapter 2: Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww yes! Another update in the same day? Whoo! I know it's short, but it was really fun to write. I'm so happy to finally get this bit out there, ugh.
> 
> Please enjoy~

Chapter 2: Smile

 

\-----  
Everything is white, and bright. Too bright! My eyes are burning!

Burn. Burn. Burn.

I attempt to lift my head, when I register the weight against all joints of my body. My skull bounces numbly against something hard, and I am unable to move. I’m forced to close my eyes again when the light continues to burn my retinas.

Where am I?

When nothing seems to happen, I can feel the panic begin to rise up in my throat like vomit, chokingly vile. Clenching my fists, the empty atmosphere allows me to hear every beat of my heart, every breath through my lungs. The swallows I attempted with my dry mouth. I began to shake while I tried to focus on my body, barely managing to keep my panic at bay. I couldn’t help but jump with a small yelp when something cold suddenly pressed against my arm.

Panic. Panic. Panic!

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn't realize you were awake.” The voice rang throughout the … space? Room? Area?

Opening my eyes, a silhouette was looming over me. Instead of feeling afraid, however, the voice was … comforting. For some reason, I felt like I could trust this mysterious being. Trying to respond, I opened my mouth to say something, when a drawn-out croak floated through the air. Surprised, I closed my mouth to listen, only for the sound to disappear.

The figure, however, seemed more concerned about me than whatever had produced that noise. “I see. The only way for this to work, however, is for us to continue.”

Confused by the response, it chuckled at my perplexed expression until I realized I was the one who had made that odd croaking noise. Closing my eyes again, I simply let out a deep breath through my nose in a pathetic sigh. The pressure had moved from my arm to my chest now, and I could feel the scrape of fabric against my skin.

“Are you ready?”

I paused, unsure of what was happening. This entire time, I had been too focused on myself to really listen to this figure's words.

What’s happening?

At first, my instincts told me to refuse; that whatever is going on will not be good. But something else, something stronger, refused to let me cower. Instead, I nodded my head, bracing myself for what was to come.

No. No. Stop.

Another chuckle. “As much as I would love to continue, you need to relax.”

Suddenly, another figure filled my vision, but it was much closer. While the other one was to my side, this one was directly above my face. I sucked in a deep breath, but the scent that filled my nose automatically relaxed me. Salty, with a warm pinch of spice. I knew this person.

These people.

Blinking rapidly, I could see the purple and cyan that flashed before my eyes before disappearing again.

“hey.” My eyes were finally able to focus on the pinpricks that were mere inches away from my pupils.

“Hey.” I responded breathlessly. I tried to reach for his face, desperately wanting to touch his cheek, only to be reminded of the leather buckle around my wrist when it squeaked in protest against my movements. Grimacing, I could suddenly feel all of the straps against my body, keeping me pinned firmly against the table. My eyes flicked back up to meet Sans’.

His bony hand automatically brushed against the soft flesh of my face to compensate for my immobility, and I smiled, leaning into his touch. Gaster’s warm chuckle rang throughout the room while Sans' grin finally softened into something more genuine. “there she is.” He hummed affectionately.

I let a breathy giggle escape my throat, but I still couldn’t keep the quiver out of my voice when I said, “Sans.”

The lighter atmosphere in the room seemed to cease when the two skeletons noticed the fear in my voice. “yeah?” Sans breathed gently, his breath causing my bangs to tickle my forehead. It smelled of ice; never icy mint, but just ice. I love it.

Love, love. Love. Hate.

I wrinkled my nose as the hairs tickled me, and he gently brushed them aside while Gaster looked on. Meeting Sans' eyes again, my smile stayed on my face. I had to keep strong. “I’m scared.” Keep strong my butt. Anyone could hear how weak my voice was while it cracked and trembled, but my smile never wavered.

“i know, princess.” He whispered in response; neither of us were going to avoid the truth during this. For a second, he rested his forehead against mine while we both closed our eyes, his smile still plastered on his own face as well. Unfortunately, my habit had rubbed of on him. Of course I knew him well, but he still had his secrets and so did I.

Gaster cleared his throat after a few moments, and I blew out a slow breath when Sans lifted his head again while we both opened our eyes. He brushed his knuckles against my cheek in one last stroke, before turning away and disappearing from my sight.

Gone. Gone. Again, gone.

I tilted my face to look at Gaster only to find that he was already smiling crookedly down at me. I couldn’t help but return his expression in response, and gave a weak laugh. “Hey, Doc. Why do surgeons love jokes?” I asked, ignoring the prick in my arm.

His chuckles covered up the squeaking of knobs, while he slowly shook his head. My arm grew cold. His eyes shifted away from my face and to my torso while he lifted up my gown. I was bare before him; the only thing covering me were the panties on my lower half, but I didn't mind. I trusted him. Instead, I kept my eyes trained on his face while his shoulders shifted and the scent of povidone iodine filled the air.

Eventually, he turned back to me, just as my hands and feet had gone numb. This wasn’t so bad anymore. His professional demeanor was gone while he smiled at me again, the same old doctor I know and love. “I don’t know, why do surgeons love jokes?” he asked me, and someone handed him something.

Instead of focusing on whoever that was, I looked at … Who was I looking at again? Man, my body is really heavy. But this guy's smile is so nice. Wait, I was supposed to say something. “Isth … it … ith be ... buh cause … cuz …” I can’t feel anything anymore, but that's alright. Someone was laughing, so I must've said whatever I was trying to say.

Numb. Numb. Numb.

Everything's turning white except for the moon. Instead, it was barely there; a crescent shaped sliver of black. The only weird thing was that it was resting on its side.

Like a smile.  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know I haven't exactly said this before, but I would really appreciate it if you commented, or at least left kudos. I know this is only the second (or "third") chapter of the story, but I really need some feedback. I get paranoid when I don't hear from my audience, because I don't know if 'I'M MEETING YOUR STANDARDS', or if anyone is even reading this in general. Please, some acknowledgement would really help!


	4. Chapter 3: Throb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Vomiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who we FINALLY meet in this chapter? Eee!
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Throb

 

(y/n)’s eyes flew open, only to find herself blind and unable to move.

She screamed, but everything was hot and muffled. She attempted to suck in another breath, but she couldn’t. Instead, she was met with something dry that absorbed whatever moisture she had left in her mouth. Her arms felt like they were bound to her sides by unseen force, and her vision had yet to return. Heat made her skin throb, and her skin twitched when she could feel something crawling up her back …

Sins. Sins? It’s so hot. Too hot. Too hot, and dark! Dark. Dark, darker, yet darker …

THUD!

(y/n) gritted her teeth in pain when she landed hard on her side. She panted heavily through her nose while she tried to get her panic under control. Once she was finally able to breathe steadily, she slowly sat up to take in her surroundings. Rubbing the side of her arm that she had fallen on, her eyes focused in the darkness until she realized she was on the floor of the room inside Toriel’s house.

Looking around, she found that her legs were still twisted up in a blanket. That must have been what had seemingly tied her up, while the pillow hanging of the mattress was what had been suffocating her. And the crawling feeling was definitely sweat, ugh. With a sigh, (y/n) rubbed her face. What had even caused her to wake up in the first place? She couldn’t recall her dream at all; the only thing left was the faint lingering of panic.

“It’s because they always leave them in stitches.”

The words rolled from her tongue without much effort, and she blinked rapidly. Where did they come from? There was a strange tugging sensation in the back of her mind, as if the answer were clear, but she just couldn’t find it. Instead, she pushed herself to her feet and began to pick up the little mess she'd made while her mind was in thought. The tugging feeling just wouldn’t go away; in fact, it seemed to be getting closer.

Then, just as she had straightened out the pillowcase, it happened.

Ba-bump.

(y/n)’s entire being was filled with an ache, as if a part of her were missing; empty. She stumbled forward, falling onto the bed. Oh, how it hurt.

Ba-bump.

The tugging inside of (y/n)’s being had turned into a pull. She patted herself down to make sure she had on her tank top and leggings before yanking on her socks and boots. Once they were on, she moved towards the door and practically ripped the hoodie from its door handle. When she left her room, she had to force herself to walk slowly down the hallway of Toriel's house. It was dark now, the fireplace having been extinguished, and all lights were off.

Ba-bump.

She gritted her teeth when the ache spread from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. She found herself standing before the stairway, staring down into whatever darkness they led to. She shouldn’t be here, she should just turn back. Whatever was happening to her was sure to pass, and then she could spend more time here with Toriel before leaving with a proper goodbye. Squeezing her eyes shut, (y/n) turned back around, raising her foot to leave.

Ba-bump.

And her foot landed on the first step down the staircase. Before she knew it, it was soon being followed by the other, until she was flying over the steps. The creaking of wood turned into the slapping of stone, but (y/n) couldn’t stop herself from pursuing the darkness until she entered what looked like a cavernous hallway that ended in a void of nothingness.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

(y/n) was shuddering now, chilled to her core. The cold from before had returned in heavy waves. She tugged her sleeves down over her hands and pulled her hood up over her head while her teeth chattered loudly into the silence. Rolling her shoulders, she pulled her muffler over her nose before continuing forward while stuffing her hands deep into the pouch of her hoodie.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

She had to stop, hunching over when the cold and aching feeling hit her over and over. She pushed on, stumbling over to the wall of the cavern every now and then until the throbbing agony was dull enough that she could see straight again. Eventually, she hit the end of the wall where it was carved into a corner that she turned down. She continued stumbling until she realized she was looking at an arched pair of massive stone doors.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

Despite how heavy they looked, (y/n) found a line running down between the moist slabs of stone. Pushing up the sleeves from over her hands, she wedged her fingers between the doors while she fished for something, anything to hold onto. When she found a decently sized crack with her right hand, she hooked her fingers into it while removing her left hand and placing it on the other door.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.  
Fueled by the adrenaline that pulsed beneath the pain, (y/n) steeled herself and began pulling the door with her right hand and using her left as leverage. Small puffs of cloudy breath began to appear around her head while she wheezed through her teeth. Something deep inside her felt pleasure when the sound of stone scraping against stone filled the air, and she grinned when a blast of freezing air and bright light hit her face.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bumpba-bumpba-bump---

BOOM!

(y/n) leaned against the two closed doors with her hands on her knees and eyes shut tight while panting through her nose. The throbbing was gone, and had once again receded to a faint tugging sensation. Once she had gathered her bearings, she lifted her head to take in her surroundings.

She sucked in a sharp breath of icy air at the beauty before her. Both sides of her were bordered by a thick forest of tall pine trees, and a pathway stretched out in front of her. Everything was covered in a soft blanket of snow, and thin white flakes were still falling gently from the black abyss above her. The sound of a soft breeze mixed in with light tapping of the occasional snow clump hitting the ground echoed in the muted air, bouncing back with its own soft melody.

Keeping her hood drawn and hands in her pouch, she continued forward in a more relaxed state, albeit tired from her previous ordeal. The rhythmic crunching of her feet and the slight warmth from her hoodie eased a tiny, hidden smile onto her face, and she became oblivious to her surroundings. That’s when she found herself falling face first into the snow.

Fortunately, she managed to land on her hands and knees, thus keeping most of her body dry, but that still didn’t keep the cold from her skin. Quickly getting up, she dusted the powder from her clothes and looked down to see what had caused the fall. There was a broken stick on the ground, and footprints. She shrugged and moved forward, before making a double-take at the ground. Footprints?

Suddenly, she broke into a sprint, following the trail. Footprints meant people, people meant a town, and a town meant safety. And, sure enough, a second set of larger footprints channeled in with the first, until she met a bridge with wide bars on either side. For a moment, she hesitated, before shaking her head and ducking across the wooden passageway. Once she reached the other side, she slowed to a stop beside what looked like a lamp and an odd little shack of some sort.

Approaching the shack, she found that it must have been a food stand, and it was lined with condiments. Once her curiosity was satisfied, she turned back to the pathway when she found a third set of footsteps, these being the largest. While the second pair had disappeared somewhere behind her, the other two continued forward, and all sets seemed fairly new. Feeling hopeful and encouraged, she trudged forward.

After a little while, (y/n) began to notice little establishments popping up more and more frequently around her, all dog themed. Although one may find this cute, something about them seemed rather off-putting.

\-----

“Have you ever met the dogs?”

“Ah, sorry. Can’t say I have.”

“Oh.” Pause, “Well, they’re really silly!”

Laughter. “Really? How are they silly?”

“Well, they always call people puppies, and one of them can even stretch it’s neck!”

“It can? Well, that really does sound silly!”

“I know! Plus they bark a lot and they like weird music. But they’re nice and funny, so I guess they’re okay.”

“Oh, well, I guess if you’re okay with them, then I am, too.”

Suddenly, she realized what it was. Everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

\-----

A sudden and eerie chill crept up her spine at this realization, and she quickened her pace. Why was everything so quiet out here? Surely a town was close by, right? While she wondered about, she came across something that made her heart stop, and goosebumps broke out across her flesh. It was a pile of ashen grey powder scattered about the snow.

Dust.

Her throat became dry and she dropped to her knees. Something was wrong here; very, very wrong. She tried to swallow, but couldn’t, her throat only making a thick squelching sound. She didn’t know why this dust put her so on edge; it was just dust, right?

Right ..?

While she was deep in her thoughts, a booming sound caused her to jump in surprise before automatically dropping into a defensive crouch behind a tree, looking out to see where the sound had originated from. After a few moments, however, she stood back up when she spied a bridge ahead from between a few more trunks. On the other side of the bridge, there appeared to be two skeletal monsters. One was short and the other was tall, and, although she couldn’t quite see them from where she stood, the taller one appeared to be working on something.

“BUT SANS, I CANNOT SIMPLY ABANDON THIS HUMAN! NO MATTER HOW RUDE THEY MAY BE, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM UNDOUBTEDLY THE GREATEST WITH MANNERS, SO I SHALL FOLLOW THROUGH WITH CAPTURING THEM AS I PROMISED UNDYNE! NOT DOING SO WOULD BE RUDE!”

And speaking in a very, very loud voice.

Finding comfort in the sudden burst of noise, the woman inched forward before settling behind a tree that was much closer to the bridge.

“i know, bro, but the human doesn’t seem too happy with these traps-“

“PUZZLES, SANS! THEY ARE PUZZLES!”

“er, right, puzzles, whatever. what i’m tryin'a say is, don’t you think it might also be rude to force our hu- ah, guest, through these puzzles if they don’t wanna go through ‘em?”

There was a long pause, and she watched while the taller of the two brothers silently thought over what the other said. When his face suddenly lit up, she leaned forward, curious to hear what response had taken him so long to think of. “WOWIE, SANS! I DID NOT KNOW YOU WERE CAPABLE OF CARING SO MUCH ABOUT A STRANGER!” He had stars in his eyes, and was beaming down at his brother.

Sans merely shot Papyrus a lazy grin. “what can i say? your cool personality is really ribbin' off on me.”

Papyrus quickly turned away from his brother, throwing his arms high up into the air. “NYARGH, NEVER MIND! YOU ARE NOT CAPABLE OF CARE AT ALL!”

“bro, wait-“

Papyrus had begun to stomp away from a chuckling Sans, who in turn reached out for his brother. Before either of them could get very far, however, the sound of muffled laughter caused the two of them to perk up. The two simultaneously turned around, looking back down the length of bridge to the other side.

The woman had completely lost her stealthy composure, unable to hold back the laughter that had been building in her chest since Papyrus's blatantly honest reaction to Sans' rather obviously false care. She clutched her chest for a moment, pressing another arm against the tree and resting her forehead against it. The sound rang out like bells while she shook, her hood and muffler falling to expose her face. It wasn’t she realized the silence had returned that her laughter slowly died down until it stopped completely.

She froze at the sound of footsteps crunching through snow, slowly lifting her head when they became louder. She straightened back up as they got closer, increasing in volume.

Puzzles.

Crunch.

Snap.

Traps.

Shadows.

She looked up when to meet the empty hollows of Papyrus’s eyes, a shudder racing down her spine when he loomed over her, draping her in his shadow.

“hey, pal, don’t you know that it’s r u d e t o s p y ?”

The sudden brush of air that was emitted by the low threat against the woman's ear caused goosebumps to break out across her scalp and the back of her neck. She jumped with a scream, before whipping around and backhanding something rather forcefully in the face while they grunted. It took her only a split second to realize it was Sans, who was on his rump in the snow and rubbing a bright cyan mark against his cheek.

Papyrus merely stepped over the woman while booming, “BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” in a very distressed voice.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” the woman quickly approached Sans before dropping to her knees between his legs, leaning in close to inspect his cheek without a second thought.

papyrus crouched down next to them, a glove placed worriedly to cheek. “OH, SANS …” he sighed.

“don’t worry bro, it’s just a little- ngh!” Sans had gently patted his cheek to reassure Papyrus, but ended up hitting a tender spot in the process.

“No, it's not a little anything.”

Sans, who had been so preoccupied with the pain in his cheek and the explosion of color behind his eyes, hadn't noticed how close the woman had come to his face. The sweet sugary scent of her warm breath hit the bridge of his nose, surprising him. Swiveling his skull to look at her, his mouth that had been opened for a response simply hung open while croak escaped his throat. He quickly shut his jaw with a loud click, a bright cyan blush attempting to crawl across his face while he froze in slight shock.

The woman was sitting on her knees between Sans' legs, and very close to him. He had been sitting back from his little fall, so she was leaning over him with the fronts of their hoodies brushing against each other. She had hit his right cheek, so she had placed her left and in the snow by his side while using the arm for support. She turned a bit to get a better view of the right side of his face, slightly twisting her torso around his and causing them to press even further together. Something about her presence seemed oddly comforting, their bodies perfectly aligned with each other. He nearly flinched when the soft padding of her fingers gently touched the bones of his phalanges that still rested against his cheek, but he was captivated when his gaze met her eyes. Her expression was one of pure care, silently asking for his consent to inspect his injury, despite how slight it may be.

(y/n) trained her eyes on his pinpricks, the cyan there exposed so blatantly that she felt a bit surprised. Maybe he had been shocked? Probably. Ignoring her odd intuition, she turned her focus back to the … bruise? On his cheek the moment his hand had willingly moved aside. She leaned in closer to look at the damage, noticing the near-center of the bruise was a darker shade than the rest, while the edges faded into the white of Sans’ bones. Little did he know, she, to, felt oddly comforted by his presence. Rather, both his and Papyrus’s, in fact. But she didn’t allow her feelings to distract her from the deed at hand. She cupped his jaw and felt mild surprise at the warmth in his bones, when the sudden urge to brush her lips against his bruised cheek filled her chest.

Sans sucked in a sharp breath when her warm, soft hand held his face. From his perspective, he could see the shape of her nose, brightness of her eyes, softness of her lips. Her mouth was slightly parted while she bit the corner of her mouth, forehead and nose just a tiny bit scrunched in focus. The false wintry blush of her nose tip and cheeks where the cold showed the false blush of life. And yet, despite the clear presence of life and character, something was oddly … missing. He could feel it more so than he could see it, until it filled his vision.

Grey, like a monster’s soul, but not a monster’s soul at all.

A sudden spark of magic filled the air, and (y/n) turned to meet Sans' eyes again. Her heart quickly doubled in pace when she met an eerily empty right socket, shuddering at the flicker of gold and blue in the left.

Silver. Screaming. Glowing. A smile – no, two smiles. Three. Souls. Science. Solution.

But …

“BROTHER? NEW HUMAN? IS EVERYTHING- OH! FIRST HUMAN!”

But Sans' magic wasn’t aimed at the woman.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

She sat back so that she could turn and see what was happening.

Ba-bump.

All she saw was a blur of brown, purple, blue, with a glint of silver, all blotted in grey. The next thing she knew she was stumbling away from Sans and facing the child, clutching her chest and letting out a pained scream.

The child was clutching their own chest, and pointed a rather dusty finger at the woman. “You.” They spat angrily. “Why are you here?” their voice was filled with malice.

Something inside the woman stirred, and her own mouth opened against her will. “To stop you!” her voice was quivering but loud. The pain in her chest throbbed harder when the child snarled in rage. She nearly doubled over from the feeling.

“Fool!” the child snarled, and prepared to charge the woman. “I’ll des- augh!” they had taken a few running steps forward, only for a shockwave of pain to hit the two humans. With a scream, the child fell to their knees while gasping for air, scrabbling at the snow while their torso spasmed.

The woman was already exhausted from her previous ordeal, and the pain only made things worse. She was rendered speechless, already in too much agony to utter even a whimper. Staggering over to a nearby tree, she collapsed into their hands and knees. Her chest began to involuntarily heave until the contents of her stomach spewed messily onto the ground, and only stopped when all that was left were a few strands of drool. When she was finished, she drew in gasps of air while coughing loudly. By the time she could breathe, she realized the child was gone.

Sitting back, she looked down at the mess with a wrinkled nose. Her head was swimming and tears had trickled down her face while drool and vomit were coated around her lips and chin, although the projectile had luckily missed her hands and clothes. She quickly grabbed handfuls of snow despite the freezing cold, and used it to scrub her face and to rinse out her mouth. When she felt clean, she shoveled piles of snow over the mess until it was heavily buried.

Fairly satisfied, the woman finally stood to her feet while wondering about what had just happened. Who was that child, and what had caused them to become so vicious? Why were their clothes so dusty? What made them so angry towards the woman? And more importantly, what – or who, perhaps – had spoken through the woman?

“HUMAN!” the woman jumped, turning to meet the eye sockets of Papyrus. He was looking down at her with a worried expression, torso slightly declined to better meet her face. “WHAT WAS THAT?”

“yeah, lady, are you okay?” her eyes flicked downwards to see Sans' equally anxious face, and her heart twisted a bit. These two skeletons felt like family to her, but she didn’t know why. All she was left with were guilt and longing, her heart beating dully in time with her exhaustion.

She heaved a sigh, running a hand over her clammy face. “I know it sounds crazy, but …” she chewed the corner of her mouth in thought, subconsciously sagging against a tree as she contemplated her words carefully and searched her memories. Would it be safe to tell the truth? With a glance back up at the brothers, something in her gut told her it was okay, and she went with that feeling. “I don’t know really know what that was. All I know is that I woke up in the ruins, and travelled here before finding you guys.” She confessed, before her voice became small and threatened to quake. It didn’t. “I don’t remember much before that, other than my name.” Looking back up at the brothers, she gave them a tiny smile. “It’s (y/n), by the way, and I'm happy to have met you two.”

Sans’ face wore that lazy grin again, while Papyrus’s lit up with an ecstatic smile. “OF COURSE IT MUST BE WONDERFUL TO MEET ME, FOR I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! AND I AM GLAD TO MEET YOU, TOO, HUMAN!” the taller skeleton shouted.

The shorter skeleton nodded. “’s nice to meet ya, lady.” He said, grin never faltering. “name’s sans, sans the-“

“Skeleton?” the woman finished with an amused grin.

He paused, before grinning impossibly wider. “well, it'd be a fibula if I said you were wrong.”

Before the woman could reply, Papyrus immediately turned towards his brother in a violent motion. “OH MY GOD, SANS! THIS IS OUR SECOND TIME MEETING A HUMAN, AND YOU STILL PERSIST ON THESE IRATE SHENANIGANS!?” His brother only shrugged with a chuckle, shooting the woman a mischievous wink while Papyrus turned back to her. The taller skeleton looked at her with a consoling expression, while dismissively waving towards Sans. “DO NOT WORRY ABOUT SANS, HUMAN! DESPITE HIS HORRIBLE TASTE IN JOKES, HE IS ACTUALLY QUITE HARMLESS!” before squinting at his brother again, “AND RATHER LAZY …”

Sans just shrugged again, before the two looked at the woman when she spoke. “Oh, thank you Papyrus,” she began, taking his gloved hand with an innocent smile. After a split second, however, it became rather sly while she leaned towards him and squeezed his hand, “but there’s no need to become so rattled because of your brother. I think I have the spine to handle a bonehead like him, because I’m sure he doesn’t have the guts to take me. In all honesty, it takes a lot of effort to really get under my skin.” She then let him go, before turning around and walking towards the bridge. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I'll be on my way to town.”

Papyrus simply threw his arms high into the air with a loud screech. “WHY MUST I BE THE ONLY SANE SKELETON IN THE UNDERGROUND!? WHY?” before storming in the direction the woman went, considering he had nowhere else to go.

Sans stared incredulously after her, absolutely starstruck. Not only was (y/n) kind and beautiful, but she loved puns, too! That sentence had been absolutely brilliant! Something pulsed in his chest, and he placed a hand over his soul while watching her retreating form. Something inside her seemed to be calling out to him; he just knew it.

But what?

“Sans!” he was shaken from his thoughts by her voice. She was standing next to a rather peeved looking Papyrus, although the brother was significantly calmer than before. She was looking over her shoulder at him while they stood before the bridge. “You comin'?”

Realizing he had yet to move, Sans’ face lit up in a cyan hue. Too embarrassed by the fact that he had been caught staring at the woman, he shook his head while ducking into the fur lining of his hood to hide his blush. Hands shoved into his pockets, he said, “nah, I’ll meet ya up ahead.” Before adding, “i know a shortcut.” With a wink.

Shrugging, the woman nodded. “Alright, well, see you later then!” before turning back to Papyrus. The taller skeleton was calm now while the two moved on, and when Sans began to walk away he could vaguely hear his brother shouting something about spaghetti before the conversation disappeared altogether.

Standing in the snow, he watched it fall softly within the copse of frosted trees to join the ground. With a sigh, Sans refused to let his impending questions overcome his mind so that he could focus on the present. After a few moments of silence, he continued walking until there was a flash of cyan and his trail of footprints abruptly ended and Sans was no longer in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, Sans seems to have the hots for reader! //Paps: NOW KISS!// Heehee, but don't forget, this is called a SLOW burn! There's always trouble in paradise (if paradise exists yet, that is *maniacal laughter*)
> 
> And what was up with Frisk and Reader? Sure, it was Chara, but who were they talking to? What spoke from Reader's body? Perhaps a ... forgotten memory, hm? (Maybe, or maybe not, heh heh) We'll just have to find out, now won't we?
> 
> I am so sorry for the delay. I know it took forever, but I am struggling through the darkest time of my life right now. I'm still working on this story, I promise, and I hope to start giving more frequent updates soon!
> 
> Thank you, everyone, who has shown me support, from comments, kudos, bookmarks, or even viewing this! I cry every time, because I'm sech a weenie haha, but I love you all. Please continue to comment and support this story, because it's like a little light in the darkness that is my life right now.
> 
> Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Hoi! Hoi hoi hoi!!!
> 
> I'm super duper pooper trooper excited to finally publish this! I hope hope hope hope HOPE you all will hang around. I know I'm a new author to the Undertale side of ao3, but this chapter isn't even scratching the surface of this story!
> 
> Seriously, this is going to be one long, adventure filled drama. And as with adventure comes drama, violence, and comedy.
> 
> Just stay tuned, my loves!
> 
> GAH! I can't say more or this will turn into an annoying ramble, but thank you so much for reading.
> 
> * you kiddos are so cool.


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